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Woongjin Group re-enters water purifier market

Collected: 2018.03.01

Distributed: 2018.03.02

Source: Go Direct

Yoon Seok-keum

Woongjin Group announced on Wednesday it will venture into the water purifier business again, clustering its rental services for water purifier, air cleaner, bidet and five other products under new brand Woongjin Rental.

It represents the group’s re-entry into the house supply rental market five years after its sale of Coway, the country’s leading water purifier maker.

Woongjin Rental plans to launch a water purifier that automatically sterilizes the water pipe every 20 days by checking suspension in the tap water supplied to each household among others. “Based on our long-term experience and know-how in the water purifier rental market, we will expand our presence by introducing new products and services," said a Woongjin Group official.

Woongjin kicked off its water purifier business in 1989 and created a new business model by launching the industry`s first rental service in 1999. However, the business group had to sell the cash cow in 2012 due to group-wide liquidity problem in 2012 after it acquired money-losing Kukdong Engineering & Construction in 2007. Coway was sold to a local private equity firm under a condition that Woongjin would not be involved in water purifier business for the following 5 years. The 5-year limitation came to an end last month.

By Shin Soo-hyun and Minu Kim

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